The compound 2-CdA has the following formula: ##STR1## 2-CdA is known as an antileukemic agent, i.e., in treating leukemias, such as, hairy cell leukemia and L 1210 leukemia, and as an immunosuppressive agent (D. A. Carson, D. Bruce Wasson, and Ernst Beutler, Proc. Soc. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 81, pp 2232-2236, 1984). More recently, 2-CdA has been has been disclosed as effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,732.
To date, 2-CdA has been administered by intravenous injection of saline solutions presenting two problems for subcutaneous or intramuscular injection. First, 2-CdA is slightly soluble in water which requires a large volume of material to be injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly to achieve the required dose. Secondly, 2-CdA has limited stability in simple saline solutions. Longer shelf-life is beneficial for extended storage at refrigerated or room temperature conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,732, col. 8, teaches a 0.1 mg/mL isotonic saline solution of 2-CdA. There has been marketed a non-buffered solution containing 1.0 mg/mL of 2-CdA in 9.0 mg/mL sodium chloride injection, USP.